Hollow Moon
by The Judas Contract
Summary: A prequel to the tv series, fills the gap in between when Raven first left Azarath for earth, up untill the first episode...yeah, the summary sucks, but R&R please. Rated T for character deaths.
1. Prolouge

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Teen Titans. All other characters are mine.  
This is my first story for fanfiction, so i hope u like it. **Read & review **please, thanks...enjoy!

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**The** chilly night air whipped through the tall forest trees, swirling up piles of dead leaves into the air, before scattering them back out amidst the forest floor. Wolves howling, owls hooting, and the creaking of old oak trees in the wind, provided the only noise in a forest otherwise seemingly devoid of life. A full moon hung high above in the darkness, casting its ominous glow upon all below it, whilst there was scarcely a cloud in sight.

Loud crackling noises began to fill the air, drowning out out all other sounds, a mass of purplish energy appearing in the sky. The vortex swirled and crackled, sending off streaks of energy out from it, as it grew even larger. Suddenly, a smaller object exploded out of it and fell towards the ground, trailing hissing purple smoke as it crashed down in a small clearing. It was seemingly silent for an instant until a thunderous boom was heard, echoing throughout the entire forest, the ground exploding as the impact send up a massive shower of dirt high into the air.

Almost as suddenly as it had appeared, the vortex began to collapse in on itself...

**Farther** off in the distance, a group of red-robed figures watched as the vortex vanished, returning the night to a now eerie silence.

"She's here, it would seem that our brothers were successful in intercepting her after all" declared the figure at the head of the group, speaking to the rest.

"Soon, the results of our labor shall come to fruition, and i shall gain the power of hell itself."

His followers all turned in unison and walked off down the sloping hill they stood upon, the leader of the group pausing momentarily, glancing back.

"It's just a matter of time now, dear child" he mused to himself, now following the rest of the red-robed figures, striding purposefully through the foliage.

There was still much to do before this night came to an end...

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Yeah, i know, kinda short...but it's only the prolouge. I promise the rest of the chapters will be longer.  
**R&R** please, more chapters coming really soon... 


	2. The Meaning Of Fear

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Teen Titans, same as everyone else on this site, but everything else is of my own creation. If i did own them, i certainly wouldn't have let it end after only five seasons, and i'd keep the Titans Go! comic running as well(since i hear they plan to end that soon as well).

I appreciate and welcome proofreading and helpful criticism, since i know my work isn't perfect. **Read** & **Review** please, thanks...

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**An** odd purple smoke billowed up where the girl had landed, filling the air with a cloudy haze. Several small fires burned nearby, though nothing large enough to be of much concern, and more than a few trees had been shattered and knocked over. The night breeze blew silently through the clearing, beginning to clear away some of the smoke, though much of it was still emanating out from the impact crater. Slowly, the fallen girl began to stir... 

**Raven** rose shakily to her feet, brushing the dirt and leaves from her cloak, as well as the ones entangled in her hair.

"Lovely" she muttered monotonously, surveying her surroundings, "I'm lost, dirty...can't wait to see how much better this gets."

She couldn't remember why or even where she was, all she knew was that she had left Azarath to come to earth, and that something had happened along the way. Now she found herself in the middle of a large forest...

Something cold and wet dripped in her eyes, and she looked upwards at the sky above, pitch-black and completely cloudless. "Hmm, not raining" she commented, wiping whatever it was out of her eyes with the back of her hands.

Gasping, she stumbled backwards and nearly fell as she withdrew her hands, seeing her own blood covering them...touching her face again gingerly she found more. She felt a sudden stinging on her forehead, and an overwhelming surge of pain that flooded her body, filling her vision with swimming colors. She felt once more on her forehead, and her fears were indeed confirmed.

"It-it can't be gone!" she stammered, panic beginning to creep into her voice, upon the realization that her chakra was no longer affixed to her forehead.

The small, ruby-like gem was supposed to be permanently attached, there to help Raven harness and regulate her powers, so she knew it couldn't have simply fallen off. She stumbled unsteadily out of the clearing to a nearby stream, dropping to her knees and cupping her hands in the water, splashing some of it into her face to clear away the dirt and blood. She could see from the reflection in the crystal-clear surface of the stream, that her chakra was indeed gone.

"What am I going to do now?" she pleaded to herself, as though expecting an answer, hating herself for the panic she found to be becoming much more evident in her own voice. _I should be able to control_ _my emotions, _she thought to herself.

"My, My, cowardice is quite unbecoming of you child, I'd expect more out of spawn of Trigon."

"What? Who's there?" she demanded, standing defensively as she scanned the surroundings for the source of the voice. _This is not good, how can anyone here possibly know about my father? _This was becoming an increasingly dangerous situation, and Raven knew it, nobody outside of Azarath should have any knowledge of her or her "unique heritage".

"You're the coward, now show yourself" she demanded once more, dark energy surrounding her clenched fists, "or are you afraid?"

"You do not yet know the meaning of fear child" came the voice again, deep and gravelly, "and you would do well to mind your insolence."

"Is that a threat now?" she mockingly asked, "means a lot from someone hiding in the shadows."

"You know..." she froze, the voice now coming from right behind her, "you really do need to learn some respect for your elders, demon-spawn."

A blast of energy hit her with full-force in the back, throwing her through the air and into a nearby tree, she hit it hard and landed with a dull thud on the ground. _How could he have moved so fast_, pondered raven as she stood,_ I couldn't see him, but there's no way he should've been able to move behind me without me noticing. _She rose to face her attacker, whom was wearing a dark-red robe with the hood drawn low over his face, shrouding his face from view. He stood several meters away, seemingly unarmed, watching her intently.

"Big mistake." Raven ran at the cloaked figure as she gathered her dark energy around her arms, her target simply standing there and not reacting at all, as she unleashed a burst of dark energy at him...or at least, she tried to. It started to expand outward from her hands, but then sputtered and vanished, stopping her in her tracks.

"A problem, perhaps?" mocked the man, chuckling from under his hood.

_This can't be good_, she thought to herself, as the man sent a massive stream of fire in her direction.

The night had now just gone from bad to worse...

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See, longer chapters now, and more action...hope you liked it. 

I'm planning on revealing more about Raven's past in later chapters, so definately look for that...more updates as soon as i write them.

**R**&**R**, you know you wanna...


	3. You Should Be

First off, I want to thank my very first reviewer Regina lunaris, as well as the others that also reviewed.

I actually beat my own goal on this one, managed to get this done a week sooner than i planned on, hope you enjoy

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Teen Titans, which i'm sure you already know at this point...

**Read **& **Review**

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**Flames **singed her cloak as she narrowly avoided the man's searing blast, diving quickly to the ground and rolling out of range, rising quickly to face her enemy. She tried once again to attack, getting the same result, her dark energy dissipating almost as soon as it was formed. 

"You'll have to do better than that."

The man pulled back his arms, gathering a mass of flame, and firing once again at Raven. Still a little stunned from her hard dive to the ground, she raised her own arms in front of her, chanting her mantra loudly in defiance. _This had better work_, she hoped to herself...

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

Dark energy erupted from her hands, forming a shimmering shield in front of her, stopping the man's attack just in time. "So you do have some fight in you after all, girl" spoke the man as he continued to shoot out the stream of flame.

"What did you do with my chakra?" Raven demanded, straining to keep up her dark energy shield against his relentless attack, she could feel it growing significantly weaker.

"In due time" he announced, and with that he gathered of the flame into a massive ball and fired it at her, shattering her defenses and forcing her to the ground to avoid being burned. Before she could even stand, he hit her with a burst of energy, sending her hurling backwards and into the bushes nearby. Laughing hysterically, he then unleashed another ball of flame in her direction, missing and instead incinerating the nearby trees as they erupted in flames.

"My, i can't remember the last time i had so much fun, but surely you can do better than that" he mocked, igniting all of the surrounding forest in a massive blaze, still laughing dementedly all the while.

**Smoke** haze blurred her vision and made her extremely dizzy. She struggled to stand, realizing her cloak was on fire. Frantically, she swatted out the flames before putting it back on, much of it now badly burned. Clouds of smoke filled the forest, though through a break in the haze she could see the demented man pacing the clearing, still taunting her.

"Come out, Come out, wherever you are, dear Raven" taunted the man, searching around for Raven before sighting her, "ah, there you are!"

Another blast of flame came at her almost too quick to dodge, Raven jumping aside just in time to avoid it, the flames instead torching the few remaining trees behind her._ I've gotta do something, or else_ _i'll die_, she thought to herself, _I just need to get close to him_. Emerging from amidst the burning foliage, Raven ran at the red-robed man, managing to summon another dark energy shield to deflect his next flame steam.

"Sorry, but that's just not gonna be good enough."

"We'll just have to see about that one" replied Raven, pushing forward against his attack and channeling the dark energy from her shield, firing it directly at the man and knocking him to the ground. "Now tell me" she demanded. "what have you done with my chakra?" The smoky haze still hovering over the clearing suddenly clouded her lungs, causing her to cough violently, and that's when the man took his opportunity to strike.

"You insolent wretch!" he screamed, hitting her full-force with a massive surge of energy and throwing her into the air, Raven then landing hard on the rocks by the stream and falling into the water. He hit her again before she could even stand, knocking her back down into the stream, then firing yet another burst of energy.

**Pain** flooded her entire body, as she was thrown into the burning foliage of the forest,, rolling quickly clear of the flames. _"You can crush him"_, came a voice inside her head, _"I can help you, now do it!" _She could feel her anger rising up within her, and she struggled to hold it back, refusing to accept it. _"Why do you hesitate, he is a mere insect"_ came the voice again, this time much louder and clearer, fighting its way past her lifetime of learned control.

A heavy rain began to fall upon the forest, slowly but surely quenching the raging flames and drenching the both of them completely, worsening the smoky haze considerably.

"No more games, you're coming with me" spoke the man, suddenly speaking clearly and like a completely different person, "there are no other options left for you."

_"DESTROY HIM!" _came the voice once again inside her head, this time screaming with such rage that she could no longer hold it back.

"I think you're mistaken" came Raven's voice, only now much deep and sinister, "its you that's got no more options."

She blinked, and when her eyes opened there were now four of them, glowing red and glaring from out under her hood. She grew to twice her size and floated off the ground, dark tendrils whipping out from underneath her cloak, seeking to ensnare him as her entire body surged with dark energy. The man faltered, he hadn't been expecting this, he'd been told the removal of her chakra would render her unable to manipulate her dark energies. He stood his ground though, for he knew now that any show of fear would be his undoing.

"Do you expect me to be afraid now?"

"You should be."

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You didn't actually think i was gonna let that guy just beat on her, did u? Not a chance. 

Expect updates soon, as well as insight into Raven's mind, as the story further unfolds. **Read** & **Review** Please...


	4. The Church Of Blood

Another update, even though this one took a bit longer than the others did, a fact one person in particular kept reminding me of...she knows who she is.

A special dedication for this chapter goes to Ace.04, whom i based the character of Ruby off of...she's also writing a great BB/Rae fanfic, so be sure to check that one out.

**Disclaimer: **Though this should be odvious, i don't own Teen Titans, anything else is mine...

**R** &** R please, **thanks

**(Author's Note: I recently made minor changes to the end of the chapter, mainly the last few sentences, to help with continuity and make the story flow alot easier)**

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**Torrents** of rain continued to pour down as the man watched in awe, masses of dark energy forming into clawed appendages around the girl's arms, swiping wildly at him. He nimbly avoided the infuriated Raven's first few strikes, but the next swing hit him hard in the side, slamming him against a tree and pinning him there. Her body extending to unnatural lengths, Raven leaned in close to the man's face, her four red eyes glaring menacingly at him.

"You think you've won, do you?" taunted the man, refusing to show any fear, "do you expect me to beg for mercy?"

"No, I don't" sneered Raven, leaning in even closer, "I expect you to tell me where my chakra is, and i'm only going to ask once."

"I will not cave so easily, our order is strong" he spat defiantly, "you will fulfill our prophecy."

"Wrong answer!"

She hurled him across the clearing, laughing sadistically as he landed in the mud, knocking him back down when he tried to regain his footing. She repeatedly beat him as he tried to stand, unable to defend himself from her attacks. Raven used her dark energies to surround a nearby tree, tearing it out of the ground and holding it high above her enemy, preparing to crush him.

Suddenly, she stopped, still holding the tree above her with dark magic. "No!" she said faintly, fighting to regain control of herself, "I won't do this, i won't kill him."

"_You have no choice in the matter"_came the voice inside her head, the voice of her rage, as it re-assumed control.

The man watched her in confusion, rolling out of the way as Raven dropped the tree, seeing it crash where he had just been. He hastily shot out a stream of flame at her, putting every ounce of his power into the attack, smirking momentarily but his expression soon changed. Simply raising her hand, Raven deflected his attack and nullified the flames, returning the favor with a blast of dark energy. Utterly drained, the man was left completely unable to defend himself against Raven's assault, the dark energy hitting him squarely in the chest and throwing him back down to the ground.

"You're finished!"

Raising her arms into the air above her, Raven's enlarged form grew even bigger as a swarm of dark energy enveloped her, transforming into an enormous bird made of darkness. She emitted a loud, piercing screech, looking down upon her enemy with pure malice. The cloaked man's eyes opened wide with fear, as the dark raven swooped down towards him, unable to move as it phased into his body.

Unimaginable images flooded his mind, images of death and screaming, of torture and blood. He collapsed as the horrific images, coupled with a pain that surged throughout his entire body, brought him to his knees.

**Still** shaking very visibly as she phased back out of his body, transforming back into her previous form, he raised an arm weakly in defense. Sneering sadistically at her pitiful opponent, she blasted him back down to the ground with another flash of dark energy, knocking the breath out of him.

"I'm afraid this is the end for you" taunted Raven, towering over the man as dark tendrils snaked out from underneath her cloak, ensnaring him in their grasp. He struggled and fought, but to no avail, the tendrils dragging him across the forest floor.

**Within **her mind, Raven fought for control of herself from her rage, watching helplessly as the man was being dragged and crushed by the dark tendrils .

"Stop it, stop it now!" she screamed out loud, slowly beginning to fight back the rage that controlled her body, managing to momentarily halt the attack on the cloaked man.

"_What do you think you're doing?"_ demanded the voice of her rage, _"this fool is nothing."_

"I won't let you kill him" she yelled back, withdrawing the dark tendrils back within her cloak, shrinking back down to normal size.

"_Try all you like"_ came the voice again, fading quickly,_ "but you can't deny me forever."_

Dark energy flared out around her and shot off in in all directions, blasting anything in range. Severely beaten and unable to do much else, the cloaked man took advantage of the situation and retreated, stumbling and falling as he disappeared into the trees.

**Still** in the clearing, Raven clutched her head in agonizing pain as her vision began to go black, trying to ignore the voice of her rage.

"_You really think you can just ignore who you really are, ignore what you really are?"_

"Maybe not...but i can try" replied Raven, the voice fading completely now as she blacked out, collapsing to the ground with a thud. She lay there unconsciously, the dark energy flaring around her began flickering, then disappearing all together.

A quiet calm resumed throughout the forest, as the rain began to let up, now falling at a slow drizzle.

**Pacing** back and forth across the large stone chamber, the cult leader stared down at his kneeling subordinate, the rest of the order standing around him in a semi-circle.

"You have failed me miserably" reprimanded the leader harshly, "and you know that i do not take failure lightly." He withdrew an exquisite sword from the sheathe at his hip, admiring it as he held it up to the glow of an above chandelier, then looking back down at the cowering man. The man's eyes widened as he eyed the blade cautiously, trying to reason with his leader.

"Have mercy Sebastian, i will capture the girl next time,"

"Next time?" scoffed the cult leader, raising his sword high above his head, "you ran away, and that is unacceptable." Swinging the blade downward, Sebastian severed the cowering man's left arm at the elbow, as he tried to raise it futilely in defense. His arm flying off to the side, the man fell to the ground, roiling in pain.

"Let this be a lesson to all of you" announced Sebastian to the rest of the order, motioning for several of them to take the fallen man away, "that The Church Of Blood will not tolerate failure and cowardice."

The red-robed mass watched their leader as he raised the blade to his mouth, licking the blood off of the cold steel, smiling sinisterly before looking back up at his followers. "The time is near, and you all know what is at stake for us" he said to them, projecting his voice out over the room, "Mother Mayhem and I shall decide what must be done to correct that inept coward's mistakes."

A dark-haired woman stepped out from the shadows behind him, now standing faithfully by Sebastian's side, albeit also somewhat fearfully. She wore the same robe as the other members of the order, bearing fair features and a pale complexion, but she was held in significantly higher regard than any of the others by Sebastian. She stood silently by his side, surveying his followers with mild disinterest, as Sebastian addressed them once again.

"Now leave me, all of you" he announced to them, watching as they all began to file out in unison, signally one of them in particular, "except for you."

He called the man over to him, watching him kneel at his feet, his head lowered in total devotion and respect. "What is it you ask of me, Brother Blood?"

"Locate and apprehend the child, she can't have gotten too far without this" he said, withdrawing a small ruby-like gem from his pocket "and if you fail me, don't even bother returning." He replaced the gem back within a pocket on his robes, signaling for the kneeling man to arise.

"Don't worry Brother Blood" replied the man coldly, no emotion evident in his voice, "I shall not fail."

**Back** outside on the other edge of the forest, amidst the trees and various wildlife, a young girl strode through the darkness. It had been quite awhile since she had heard the explosions echoing throughout the forest, having heard the sounds all the way from her village, which was located at the foot of a nearby mountain. Looking up, Ruby saw the massive clouds of smoke still billowing up from a nearby clearing, and could also detect the distinct odor of burnt wood.

She continued on walking through the damp foliage, the rain having stopped completely almost an hour prior, leaving the ground wet and muddy. Ducking under a low hanging branch, she entered the clearing through a break in the dense foliage, coming upon an unconscious form laying amidst the charred and smoking trees which surrounded the small area.

"What happened here?" questioned the girl out loud as she surveyed the damage, crouching down next to the body, which she found to be that of a girl only slightly younger than herself. The blue cloak she wore was badly singed, and the leotard she wore under it was torn in several places, the girl herself seemed to be in bad shape. "There's a pulse" she muttered to herself, checking for signs of life, "but it's faint."

A strange glowing symbol on the girl's hand caught Ruby's attention, she grabbed it and turned it over, her eyes growing wide in shock as she stared at the unconscious girl before her.

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Hope you all liked my decision to include the significantly creepier Brother Blood from the comics, since i always hated what they did to him on the tv series, it just never really say right with me...i still did enjoy the 3rd season though, just thought it could've been better is all.

I'm more likely to update sooner next time, provided i have the proper encouragement, also known as reviews...

So...**Read** **&** **Review**!!!


	5. Hauntingly Familiar

Apoligies for the much longer update, since i do believe it's been at least a month since my last one, but I hope this makes up for it.

This chapter doesn't have as much action as the last few did, but it does set up alot of the things that are to happen later on, as well as developing the character of Ruby.

**Disclaimer:** Yeah, yeah, I don't own the titans...but i'm sure everyone already knows that

And before i forget to mention it,** R** &** R please**, thanks

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A warm glow from the small fireplace provided ample lighting as Ruby tended to the unconscious girl from forest clearing, her skin was slightly singed and blistered from what she could only assume was intense heat, though the prominent wound on her forehead had finally stopped bleeding. The hissing sound of a boiling kettle sounded faintly behind her, and she turned to the black metal cauldron hanging over the fireplace, realizing that the brew she was preparing was soon to be done. It was an old family recipe, and was known to have faint recuperative properties, or at least that's what her mother had always told her when she was sick. She shrugged slightly at the idea, returning her attention to the girl as she began to ponder the strange glowing symbol she had seen on her hand, and the evil that had seemed to radiate off of it. 

"Just what are you?" she asked the unconscious girl silently, looking at the place on her hand where the symbol had previously been, when suddenly she began to stir from her sleep-like state.

**Raven** awoke to find herself in unfamiliar surroundings, her body aching and covered in a cold sweat. A fireplace nearby bathed the room in a comfortable glow, revealing the room she was in, which appeared to be a small bedroom. She heard footsteps suddenly, the wooden floorboards creaking underneath the weight of whomever approached, and she sat up quickly to face their source. The young girl stepped back slightly, raising both her hands openly in front of her, revealing she was carrying nothing in them.

Raven relaxed slightly as she lay back down, clutching her side as it suddenly began to ache, likely from sitting up so quickly moments before. She touched her forehead tentatively, confirming that her chakra was indeed still missing, and sighed as she resigned herself to her current situation. Noticing the bowl of water, cloth, and several varied bunches of herbs on the small table next to the bed, she quickly realized that this girl must've been treating her while she had been unconscious.

"You were pretty badly beaten up when I found you" said the girl, a concerned look on her face, "you were just lying there in the middle of a clearing, everything else around you was completely scorched."

Raven closed her eyes momentarily, and in that instant a flood of images flew through her mind: swarming flames, the sinister laugh of the cloaked man, and the rage that had nearly consumed her entirely. She shook her head, trying to clear the images from her mind, and then opened her eyes again.

"Who are you?" asked Raven curiously, gazing at the girl's delicate features, "and where am I?"

"My name is Ruby" replied the girl, pausing slightly before continuing, "and you are in the village of Samoth."

"Samoth..." Raven muttered to herself, easing herself out of bed and walking to a nearby window, her cloak still laying on the bed amidst the sheets.

Pulling aside the heavy curtains obscuring her view, she peered outside, finding that the house sat atop a hill overlooking the village below. It was nearly nightfall outside, the sun setting off in the distance behind the mountains, casting a reddish glow over the village. She saw numerous old cottages scattered around the area below, and farther off in what she assumed to be the town square, she saw a rather large crowd of people moving throughout the streets. They seemed to be setting up something, but from such a distance she couldn't be sure of what, perhaps some sort of ceremony.

She turned back around to face Ruby, the girl having now turned her attention to the kettle boiling over the fireplace, withdrawing it and pouring its contents into two separate cups. She brought the cups full of the aromatic liquid over to Raven, carefully handing her one of the cups, which she took gratefully.

"Thank you" spoke Raven quietly, "but you really didn't have to do this for me."

"It's fine, no big deal" replied Ruby calmly, "my mother used to make it for me all the time, and she gave me the recipe back before she passed away."

"I'm...sorry to hear that" said Raven, unsure of how else to reply, as she sat there in silence.

Lowering her head slightly, Ruby began speaking in a much lower tone, one full of odvious sadness. "She was murdered" came her abrupt reply, and with that she broke down in tears, "the only...the only clue to whomever did it was a symbol, burned into her forehead." Raven gasped slightly, almost choking on the last of her herbal tea, as she set the now empty cup aside.

She wasn't quite used to such outward displays of emotion, considering she had been taught her entire life by the monks of Azarath to suppress her own, so she didn't know how to react. Attempting to comfort Ruby, Raven went over and put her arm around the girl's shoulders, to which Ruby looked up at her and smiled slightly through her tears. As soon as her arm made contact with Ruby, Raven's mind was instantly flooded with a rush of images, as her powers suddenly began to act of their own accord.

Scenes she didn't recognize played back all around her, almost as though she were actually a part of them, and Raven at once knew these had to be Ruby's memories and that she seeing them as the girl once had.

_Raven found herself no longer in Ruby's house, but outside amidst a crowd of hurried and concerned villagers, as they rushed towards what appeared to be a stone well. Another group of people already stood crowded around it, and when she approached they all seemed unwilling to look her in the eyes as they backed away slightly, allowing her to peer over the edge along with the few others that still remained there. She heard hushed talk and whispers from the crowd around her, but she ignored them as she peered down into the deep stone water-well, even hearing what sounded like someone crying behind her. She immediately saw what kept most of the others shocked silence, and she found herself unable to tear her own eyes away, staring in horror at what floated broken and twisted at the bottom of the well._

_A woman's body floated on the surface of the water, lifelessly pale and wearing torn clothes stained in blood,with a hauntingly familiar symbol burned into her forehead. _

_Withdrawing her eyes from the horrible scene, she looked around at the faces full of both shock and concern, most of which were hastily trying to comfort her. She pushed past them, trying to distance herself from what she had just seen, when she saw someone watching from distance atop an overlooking hill. She couldn't see him very clearly, but there was no mistaking the blood-red robe the figure wore, and she instantly realized the horrible implications._

She stumbled backwards on unsure feet, now back within her own mind, still in shock at what she had just seen as she steadied herself against a wall. Seemingly oblivious to what had just occurred, Ruby wiped away her tears, trying to regain her composure as she looked over at Raven. "There's something i need to ask you about" she said to Raven, "it's about the symbol that was on your hand when i found you, its the same one...that they found on my mother." Raven found herself involuntarily looking down at her hands, something which Ruby noticed, but they both saw nothing there.

"I don't know what it could've been" Raven lied, "all I know is I was attacked out of nowhere, then i was somehow knocked unconscious, and now I am here." Raven hated having to lie to the girl who had been so kind to her, but she knew that the less that was known about what she really was, the less complicated things would eventually become. "Sorry I can't be of any help" continued Raven, "all I know is I was attacked out of nowhere, then I was somehow knocked unconscious...and now I'm here."

"It's alright...but there is something I've just realized about you" said Ruby, to which Raven looked nervously at her, "I still don't know your name."

"I guess we haven't gotten around to that yet, have we?" said Raven, relieved at the somewhat simpler question than what she had been expecting, "it's Raven."

"Hmm, kinda different..." mused Ruby, smiling brightly, "I like it."

Raven turned back to the bed and picked up the tattered remains of her cloak, holding them up in front of her, noting with slight annoyance that it was also burned beyond recovery. She tossed it back onto the bed, turning around to once again face Ruby. "Oh, I almost didn't remember..." said Ruby, having forgotten all about Raven's cloak until she had picked it up, now crouching next to a large wooden chest as she fumbled with the lock. After a few moments, she undid the lock and flung open the chest lid open, withdrawing a dark cloth bundle from it before re-closing it.

"Here, I noticed earlier that you needed a new one" she said as she stood up and walked back over to Raven, holding out the cloth bundle in front of her, "here, take it."

As Raven unfurled and donned the cloak which much resembled her previous one, Ruby continued to watch her with a vague curiosity, waiting several moments before speaking again.

"If you're feeling at least a little better now, maybe you'd like to take a tour of the village" Ruby suggested, "unless you don't want to, that is."

Knowing she needed to find her missing chakra, but having no real idea where to begin her search, she decided it couldn't hurt to go with the girl for the time being.

"Sure" said Raven, smiling ever so slightly, "I'd like that."

**The** sun had since faded from the sky, and a starlit night now hung above them as they strode through the throngs of people, walking side by side. The village had a surprisingly lively nightlife, as Raven could plainly notice the many lights and lanterns, strung about at random spots throughout the area. Numerous other decorations were hanging from buildings, and she noticed that many of the people were wearing strange outfits.

"Oh, I didn't tell you, did I?" said Ruby excitedly, "it's the annual harvest ceremony tonight, it's a really big deal around here."

"I kinda noticed that..." said Raven calmly, "it's a little hard to miss."

Ruby laughed slightly as she grabbed Raven's hand, pulling her through the crowd, stopping in front of what appeared to be a shop for herbal remedies. An strange odor emanated from inside the shop as Ruby held open the door, pausing momentarily to look back at Raven, who stood still several feet away from the door.

"I'll just be a few minutes, why don't you go check out the town square" Ruby suggested, "the main festivities are always there."

She was about to object, but as she followed Ruby's gaze towards the town square she saw noticed the same well from Ruby's memory, through a momentary gap in the crowds. _It's not much_, she though to herself, _but it's all I've got to go on right now, so i guess it's as good a place as any to start_. She looked up at Ruby, who stood waiting for a reply, still holding the shop door open.

"Sounds like fun" said Raven dryly, watching as Ruby turned and entered the shop, then heading through the bustling crowd towards the town square.

**Off** in the distance, atop a hill overlooking the entire village, a solitary figure watched the celebrations in silence. His eyes followed Raven as she passed through the crowd, moving towards the main festivities in town square, which at the moment seemed to include dancing and fire-juggling.

"Thought you could hide, did you?" muttered the man coldly as he stood, drawing the hood of his red robe down over his face, "no such luck, i'm afraid."

He walked to the edge of the hilltop, and without a sound he leapt off it, his robe flailing in the air behind him as he fell. Landing silently on the soft dirt below in a crouched position, he rose to his feet and strode with purpose through the trees, clenching and unclenching his fists in anticipation.

"They did seem to be having fun" he mused in regards to the harvest ceremony, letting out a sinister laugh, "I do so hate to ruin it for them."

* * *

A little more of a relaxed pace than the last few chapters, but i felt the story needed a little time to breath before i got back into the action, so expect lots of it in the next chapter. 

So, was it worth the wait? Let me know...**Read** & **Review**


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